Apple has filed for a patent on a location-based interface that can display ads and facilitate purchases over your iPhone or iPod touch while you're out shopping.
The patent, "Graphical User Interface with Location-Specific Interface Elements," is designed to generate impulse buying and to ensure that purchases are made at …

COMMENTS

Apple

Is it just me or does almost every story about Apple filing a patent involve Apple filing patents for things that are already available? Don't they ever get their own ideas? Heck, there is a video somewhere (I think it was shown on El Reg first) of an iPhone in Japan, going into a "mall" and every store popping up location based services, right down to menus and price lists (and being Japan you can use your mobile there to buy stuff in a store)

Finding music

"Or hearing a tune in a coffee shop, and rather than going crazy trying to remember its name, tapping your iPhone and being told the song's name, the artist who's performing it, what album it's from, when it was released, and who that kick-ass bass player is on that particular session."

It's already here. It's called Shazam (www.shazam.com; and available for both the iPhone and G1) and it listens to and analyzes songs, and in about 30 seconds' time will tell you who the artist is, what song it is, what album it's off AND provide a link to the applicable music store (iTunes for the iPhone, Amazon mp3 for the G1). However, the service is only as good as the music store - the bigger the music collection, the better chances you have for identifying those crazy, obscure songs.

What store share?

The article suggests that the (physical) store might get a share of the revenue. Why? If the user is in a record store (??? are there any left) looking at a potential purchase, their phone can beep and say "look it's cheaper / more convenient to by from iTunes" and you just don't make the purchase. Why does the retailer get a cut?

@Nicholas Ettel

Shazam has been around for ages and is not phone specific - just dial 2580 on any mobile phone and it will text back - however, in the 5 or 6 years I've been using it, it has never told me what album the song is from - nor who the kick-ass bass player is.. Somehow I doubt that the apple version mentioned above (which I suspect will be Shazam with a different name) will be able to tell either - sleeve notes are now so complicated when it comes to identifying individual musicians. - nor does that info come up on the ITMS.

Seriously, Shazam is pretty damn clever - the only time it failed me was with a bit of Polish jazz that I needed to identify (I guess there were no Polish jazz fans sitting in the shazam call centre that afternoon!) - and as such Apple would have a job to implement something doing exactly the same without infringing Shazam'z patents.

Docomo's had this out for years now

Localized ads, the only differences is that the ads paid for local services such local wireless services. Without needing the cost of wifi/wap. This seems almost as similar, other companies have tried and failed, but in japan it has worked and is still thriving as the youth rely so much on their mobiles.

http://wapedia.mobi/en/Location-based_service

2001 ... but then i guess if intel and dell can screw psion on their trademark i guess apple can probably do so once it becomes "generic" enough.

Location based Bittorrent anyone?

Can i store the details for later retrieval when i am perusing the many torrent trackers to allow me to download said items for free (assuming of course that said tunes are free of copyright and legitimate)?

Apple seem to only invent new ways to part us with our money. Can't they just get a patent that says "money extraction system by manipulation of the population via various Media, and by dubious trade practices and hardware lockdowns"?

Shame about the timing

On the same Reg front page there's a link to the story about Craigslist knocking off (if you'll pardon the pun) 95% of erotic listings. What a missed opportunity! "You appear to be in a red-light district...please select from (a) conventional, (b) BDSM, (c)...."

Great. Just what we need. More ads

I'm sick of getting interrupted by ads. TV is the worst, and is guaranteed to bring on an instant 'grumpy old man' moaning session. I'm just not interested in most advertising. If I need something, I'll do the research, nip to the mouse/shop, in and out, biff boff, over and done.

Oh, the irony, I work for an advertising agency but don't let on I've told you.